The Last of August: Charlotte Holmes, Book 2

Relatively regular kid Jamie is out of his depth in the deadly, dysfunctional world of the Holmeses and Moriartys. Murder's all in a day's work for several adult characters, and the teens are, at various times, kidnapped, imprisoned, drugged, and beaten. One adult character is being poisoned by another; another has disappeared, and another is shot to death.

Strong romantic undercurrent to the Charlotte-Jamie BFF relationship, hugely complicated by the traumatic events in Book 1, especially Charlotte's experience as a rape survivor. Jamie spends much of the book longing to kiss her. Frequent references to other characters' sex lives -- gay and straight, happy and troubled -- but little descriptive detail. When two characters spend a long-awaited night together, one of them reports, "I suppose I could recite the literal progression of events, but I find I have some small reserves of modesty. We didn't have protection; we didn't have sex. We did other things." Charlotte, in disguise, flirtatiously lures a thuggish character into a closet, only to knock him unconscious when he puts a hand up her dress.

Multiple "f--k," "s--t," occasional "asshole," "dickweed."

Teen and adult characters drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. The story takes them through some druggy art scenes, and there are references to Charlotte's heavy drug use in the past, but while Jamie's always worried about her relapsing, she's more involved with other matters here and there's no clear evidence that she's using.

Parents need to know that The Last of August, Brittany Cavallaro's follow-up to A Study in Charlotte, plunges teen characters Charlotte Holmes (descendant of Sherlock) and Jamie Watson (descendant of Doctor) into a dark world of murder, technology, international intrigue, and art forgery, as well as the multigenerational blood feud between the Holmeses and the Moriartys. It's all, supposedly, in aid of finding Charlotte's favorite uncle, who's suddenly disappeared, but there's always good reason to suspect deceit and subterfuge on many fronts. The latest of their families to have a life-changing if tortured connection, the two 16-year-olds have a strong bond that they're constantly questioning as events unfold and they try to do the right thing -- according to their own reckoning. Murder's all in a day's work for several adult characters, and the teens are, at various times, kidnapped, imprisoned, drugged, and beaten. One adult character is being poisoned by another; another has disappeared; and another is shot to death. There's a lot of romantic tension and snarky banter about people's sex lives, gay and straight, but no explicit detail. Expect some swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t"). But, as the story wends its way to a shocking conclusion that sets up the trilogy's final volume, dark deeds and dark forces are, overwhelmingly, everywhere.